If Only for a Second
by Lady GreyWolf
Summary: After a rough day in the Senate, Padmé just wishes to relax, but recieves a surprise visit from a man in a blue box


_(written for the Story Lottery over at LiveJournal, the prompt that's involved is "a second")_

Senator Padmé Amidala closed the door behind her with a deep sigh. It had been another tiring day in the Senate where she'd been debating over the fact that the separatist-movement was growing bigger and bigger. There was one side of the Senate that wanted an army that the Republic could use to strike back. Padmé doubted that was a good idea. In fact, she hated the idea.

Once she'd reached the safety of her quarters, she'd told Dormé that she needed to be alone for a while. Her old friend had seen how tired she was and hadn't said anything to change Padmé's mind.

So now she was standing in her bedroom, all alone. She wanted so badly to just drop onto the bed and fall asleep, right there and now, but she'd been schooled not to do so. Therefore she began with removing her make-up and releasing her hair from its exotic (and very stiff) hairstyle.

That's when she heard a wheezing sound near the door to her wardrobe and turned around. A strong wind blew against her face and she got to her feet, grabbing the gun that Captain Typho had placed next to her bed. _Just in case_, he'd said, and even though she preferred to talk peacefully to people, she didn't want to be unarmed when someone appeared in her room.

She was surprised when the wheezing stopped and the shape in front of her was nothing but a blue box. It wasn't big; you could probably fit up to three people inside of it, but not more. Curious, she walked closer to the box and knocked on the wood that it was made of. It was no illusion, she could feel that, but what the hell was it doing in her bedroom?

She wondered if it was some type of bomb and started to back away, when a door opened on the box and a man stepped out. He stopped when he saw her.

"Oh", he said and looked around. "Sorry to disturb, didn't mean to interrupt like this. Should've asked this old girl to put me down somewhere where I wouldn't be in the way for anyone."

He stepped back inside.

"Sorry once again", he said and closed the door. The wheezing started again and soon, the blue box was gone.

"Miss?" said Dormé outside the door. "Are you able to see a visitor in thirty minutes?"

Padmé shook her head and decided that it was time to wake up from this daydream.

"I believe so, Dormé", she said. "Who is it?"

"A man calling himself the Doctor of Tardis", Dormé answered. "He wanted to have a private conversation with the Senator of Naboo and just sent us a message that he'll be arriving downstairs in thirty minutes."

Padmé groaned. She had no idea what kind of place Tardis was, but she really wasn't in the mood to do more negotiating. But still, that was her job.

***

Thirty minutes later, Padmé sat down in the small room that she called her office. Typho and Dormé were outside the doors and would be escorting the Doctor of Tardis inside, once they'd made sure that he wasn't an assassin.

She hardly had time to take a deep breath and tell herself, once again, that this was her way of living, before Typho knocked on the door, signalling that everything was clear.

"Send him in", Padmé said and focused on a paper that she'd already read through several times during the previous days. The door opened and closed.

"What can I do for you, Doctor of Tardis?" she said and looked up at the man. She froze when she saw him. He was dressed in a brown suit beneath a long, brown coat. His brown hair was a complete mess and his eyes were almost black.

And it was the same man that had stepped out of the blue box earlier that day.

"Actually, I'd like to turn that question back to you", the man said and sat down. "I am here because of that I have heard about you, far away from here, and I know how tired you are right now. Tired of the same routine day after day. So I am here to ask you; what can I do for you?"

Padmé blinked, unable to speak.

"If you are worrying about the time and so on, don't", the man continued. "Most humans do, I think that's what makes you so unique, but since you do not live for far too long that's understandable."

"What?"

"Oh, sorry, forgot to introduce myself", the man said and held out his hand towards her. "I'm the Doctor, a Time Lord."

"Time Lord?" Padmé said, confused.

"Exactly", he said and grinned. "I can travel through time, visit places far, far away within a second and be back the next."

Padmé blinked.

"Are you here to offer me a trip in time?" she whispered, hardly believing her own words.

"Well, if you're up for it", he answered. She sat still for a moment, before she smiled broadly.

"If we're back quicker than I can blink."

***

Padmé had never been so happy in her entire life. She was able to see things that she'd only heard about and things that no one else would believe existed. For example, the Doctor travelled in the blue box, which was called the Tardis, and it was so much bigger on the inside that Padmé looked at herself as a kid that had found a way to her secret world.

Padmé spent four nights onboard the Tardis, plus two nights on a spa on a far away planet that she'd never heard of. The Doctor explained things to her even before she asked and she sucked it in like a sponge. He was an amazing man. She felt that he had gone through something terrible and he was really afraid to let her get too close to him, and still he hugged her and smiled the warmest of smiles towards her.

And he held his promise; when he took her back to her office in her quarters of Coruscant, only a mere second had passed since they'd left.

"I hope you had a good time", he said and smiled at her as he sent the Tardis to a spot outside the building. She smiled back at him.

"The best", she answered. She sat down in her chair once again.

"Doctor, will you come and see me again?" she asked after a while. He sat silent for a while.

"Perhaps", he answered. When he didn't continue, she nodded.

"Well, I guess that solves your problem", she said with a higher voice. The Doctor understood immediately and rose.

"It does, Senator Amidala, and I appreciate your help on this matter", he said and smiled. She stood up again and walked round the table, taking his hand.

"It was a pleasure meeting you", the Doctor said.

"The same to you", Padmé said, before she stretched and placed a light kiss on his lips. He stiffened but didn't pull away until they heard Typho move outside to open the door. The Doctor released her hand and turned away, walking past Dormé and Typho with a nod and a thin smile to assure them that he'd had his problem solved.

"That was quick", Typho said once he'd disappeared. Padmé nodded and smiled as she gathered the papers on her table.

"It was just a second", she said and walked past the confused Typho.

***

The Doctor stepped out through the doors of the Tardis and continued through the corridors of the station. He didn't stop until he reached the emergency ward. Through the glass he could see Padmé. A man was standing beside her, holding a baby in his hands and a robot was holding another one; she'd just given birth to twins. Padmé's head slowly fell to the side and the Doctor saw how her chest sank, never to rise again. He stood completely still, not noticing the gazes of the short, green creature and the dark, tall man only meters away.

"Were you a friend of Senator Amidala?" the brown man asked after a while. The Doctor looked up at him, then looked briefly at the green creature, before once again looking at Padmé.

"I was, yes", he answered. "If only just for a second."


End file.
